From Vox Popoli, https://www.voxday.net./
A satellite imagery company called Planet Labs has announced that it is further restricting the release of satellite images from over the war zone and delaying them for two weeks:
Due to the increasingly complex regional security environment, we are sharing an update to our data access restrictions in the Middle East. There are genuine concerns of use of Planet data over Iran, as well as an extended window of risk for recent imagery. After consulting with experts inside and outside of government, and as we continue to balance operational security needs and our transparency mission, Planet has decided to take additional, proactive measures to ensure our imagery is not tactically leveraged by adversarial actors to target allied and NATO-partner personnel and civilians.
As of today, we are making the following changes:
• Expansion of AOI: The designated Area of Interest (AOI) has been expanded to include all of Iran and nearby allied bases, in addition to the Gulf States and existing conflict zones.
• 14-Day Delay: We are extending the delay for all new imagery (PlanetScope, SkySat, Pelican, and Tanager) from 4 to 14 days before it becomes available in our commercial archive.
The idea that this imagery is being “tactically leveraged by adversarial actors” is absurd because a) it was already being restricted for 96 hours and b) Iran doesn’t rely upon Western civilian satellite imagery, it utilizes the information it is being provided by the Chinese and Russian militaries. The only purpose this serves is to prevent the public from being able to discern when one of the belligerent parties is lying.
One analyst immediately flagged the reason for what appears to be US government censorship being imposed upon Planet Labs:
This is a significant development and the timing alone makes it analytically important. Planet Labs already imposed a 96-hour satellite imagery blackout on Gulf states on Day 7. The original 96-hour blackout on Day 7 applied to Gulf states but notably excluded Iran, which drew immediate criticism from open source analysts including Patricia who flagged it as asymmetric censorship… This expanded notice now includes Iran, which addresses that asymmetry on paper. What it also does is remove the primary independent verification mechanism for damage assessment claims from both sides simultaneously.
Here is what I assess with confidence. The coalition’s strike tempo is down 76% from peak. $5.6 billion in munitions burned in two days. The Pentagon is preparing an emergency supplemental funding request. Two high-value US drones shot down on Day 8. American cruise missiles intercepted last night. A 14-day imagery blackout now covers every base, every facility, every impact site across the entire theatre.
Independent verification of what is actually happening on the ground just became significantly harder for everyone. Draw your own conclusions about whose interests that serves most at this specific moment in the conflict.
In other words, either the US-Israeli narrative is becoming increasingly false, or the Epstein Alliance is about to do something to Iran that it is desperate to hide from the world. And, of course, the answer could quite possibly be both.
Posted on by VD
May be, yesterday rump and others were crawfishing on previous statements, but that was read on the innerwebz.
Guess we need to HIDE all that WINNING.
Need I add a Sarcasm tag here?
Sattalight data was showing we are far from winning and Israel is getting busted up so bad that Trump ASKED Putin to mediator a peace.
From “We’re Hitting Iran even HARDER to Putin PLEASE make it Stop.
Well, if you consider voxday a reliable source……..
I read him regularly, for entertainment purposes only.
I trust Phil for a legitimate take infinitely more than vox.
Novel idea here- maybe you could actually learn to do fact checking for yourself Chuck, instead of giving us your unsolicited opinions on reliable sources? Not like he didn’t put the link to the press release right there in blue for you Portlanders.
Well Said.
You guys get your facts on the innerwebz also?
LOL I do. Seems my copies of the Encyclopedia Britannica is a couple of decades old.
Indeed, I just checked and IT is on the “innerwebz” now.
As is the Library of Congress
It’s possible that the U.S. is not doing well fighting Iran, but that’s not the way to bet. I am trying to imagine a scenario where Iran could possibly be considered to be winning in any commonly used meaning of the word.
The best explanation I’ve seen is Simple Survival.
Trumps “unconditional surrender”, your oil is mine and demanding that HE picks your leadership seems unacceptable to them.
Every day the oil is restricted by the war Asia is a day closer to the lights going out for lack of fuel for their power grid. Other such situations exist across the globe.
Eventually when things get too harsh for the rest of the world, they will reject America’s Leadership and the Petrodollar will fail.
As we import nearly everything, including our medicines that might be ah, bad.
You can argue that Iran is doing it but from media outside England and America WE are looking like the PROBLEM.
Seems DECADES of America running about “Changing other folks Governments” is coming home to roost.
We have a History of being Bad Assed Bombers.
ASIDE from that we’re not just fighting Iran. China and Russia have a dog in this fight as it’s CHINA’s Oil Trump is trying to own, like it was China’s oil in Venezuela.
BTW China has been planning for this for a while, they can active coal to oil plants already online and somewhere close to 6 months of reserves in country. That and Russia said they will happily sell them more as Europe says they don’t want it.
The world past CNN noticed.